There were countless mornings, so many mornings, he was dragged out of bed.
And a young, sleepy Michael Irvin II would dutifully follow his father to the field, where together, they'd work out before school – the Hall of Fame father providing guidance while delivering the same message.
"He would always tell me, even though we were working out, that I [didn't] have to play sports. I [didn't] have to do this," Irvin II recalled. "But he was getting me up in the mornings and getting me ready and making me work hard so that when I have my family and I have my sons, I'll be able to do the same.